Medical Malpractice Payouts Rising: DOJ Study

Law360 (March 23, 2007, 12:00 AM EDT) -- Medical malpractice insurance payouts have risen dramatically due to growing health care costs and an increasing effort by attorneys to litigate claims over only the most severe injuries, according to a Department of Justice study released Sunday.

The study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics examined seven states with comprehensive medical malpractice insurance claims databases, some of which extended back to the early 1990s.

In Missouri, the median malpractice insurance payout grew from $33,000 in 1990 to $150,000 in 2004. During various time periods up to...